Forestry-Strategy.. - The REDD Desk

FOREWORDThe Government of Lao PDR has been always paying great attention to the sustainablemanagement and use of the country’s forest resources. At the National Forest Conference in1989, the former President Mr. Kaysone PHOMVIHANE, who venerated the Lao people andnation in great deal, stated ‘forest destruction in the country has reached an alarming rate. It isthe time to change from uncontrolled logging and destruction of forests to focus mainly on treeplanting and forest protection’ (Page 38, Proceedings of the National Forest Conference, 1989).At the VII th Party Congress held in 2001 in the report on the forestry sector, one conclusion wasthat “logging and forest destruction in the country increased in some localities which broughtabout the great loss of the nation forest resources, but the benefit generated from which are verylittle”.Because of the alarming situation in the forestry sector mentioned above, the Governmentinstructed the agriculture and forestry sector to formulate a forestry strategy to the year 2020which is among other important national strategies set by the Government to address theemerging problems in the forestry sector. The overall objective of the Forestry Strategy 2020 isto contribute to achieve the indicative targets of the national socio-economic plans, to providegoods and services to the economy and the society, to reduce dependence and increase concreteefforts to manage sustainably the country’s natural resources and to contribute to theimplementation of the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES). As we arealready aware of, most Lao people in the rural areas or about over 80% of the population areheavily relying on forest resources, their daily life to a great extent is geared towards thecollection of wood and non-wood forest products for their own use as well as for sale for incomegeneration.The formulation of FS 2020 was initiated in September 2000 when forestry management issueswere considered as one key issue in the 7 th Round Table Meeting process. The Ministry ofAgriculture and Forestry was assigned as the leading agency for the formulation of FS 2020under the guidance of an inter-ministerial Steering Committee established by the Deputy PrimeMinister and President of the Committee for Planning and Cooperation in April 2001. Sincethen, a great number of studies were conducted for analysis of the general situation in theforestry sector and specific issues on forest management in the Lao PDR. Also, manyconsultations and workshops to present the multifaceted development and management issuesand challenges and strategies for allowing for more sustainable resource use were organized inthe past four years. A series of draft documents of the FS 2020 were produced followingsuggestions made by both concerned Lao agencies and the donors: the first draft of FS 2020 wasdiscussed at a meeting in July 2003, the second draft was distributed to national agencies andinternational partners in November 2003 for further consideration and suggestions forimprovements. MAF then organized a meeting of the MAF Science and Technology Council todeliberate and endorse on a third draft in May 2004. An improved and draft final version wassubmitted to the Committee for Planning and Investment for comments in August 2004 before itwas proposed to the Government for endorsement in early 2005. Sida and JICA kindly providedthe necessary financial and technical assistance to the formulation of FS 2020.The FS 2020 is an official document to guide on the sustainable and management developmentof the forestry sector in line with national policies, strategies and priority programs for nationalsocio-economic development and environmental conservation, including the NGPES. The FS2020 is the base for follow-up formulation of concrete plans and projects in the forestry sector asi